Family Reunion
by peterson28
Summary: Jill takes Chris to meet her Mother and younger siblings and to celebrate thanksgiving. Claire will be there with her new fiance and another surprise for Chris. Somewhat AU. Rated for language and maybe violence. Please R
1. Introductions

Jill Valentine was busy packing for her week-long trip to her mother's house to celebrate Thanks Giving and to catch up with her younger siblings who she hadn't seen in years.  
Her long time boyfriend Chris Redfield sat on the bed with a dour look on his tan face.

Jill stopped packing for a moment and sat by Chris.

"Something wrong"? She asked with a bit of concern in her voice, Chris was usually blunt and forceful and never acted worried.

"I'm just thinking' about Claire and that guy she's with". He said guy as if it were a curse word.

Jill rolled her eyes as she stood up. Chris had fretted over his younger sister Claires new fiance. Constantly talking about how he wasn't good enough or was just taking advantage of Claire.

She let out a frustrated sigh as she packed another t-shirt.

"Chris you need to understand that your sister is a twenty-five year old woman and is going to go where ever she wants, and be with whoever she wants".

Chris threw his hands up in anger. "I just don't understand how she would agree to marry this guy without ever introducing me to him."

Jill just shook her head. " Like she told me and you and hundred times, They started dating a year ago after she met him through Rebecca and Ryan, because he's Ryans best friend".

"Pssh,remind me to give Becca my utmost thanks for making that love connection when we see her".

"Chris...". Jill warned.

"Sorry"

"And you better be nice to my brothers when you meet them, too". Jill said with a hint of tease in her voice.

"Yes ma'am". Chris play simpered.

"Good, now let's get this luggage in the car so we can leave".

**The Valentines house**

Ryan Valentine sighed and ran a hand through his short light brown hair, and watched as his friend Spike Casson worked under the hood of his car.

"So what's wrong with it"? He asked in a bored tone, they had worked on the car for the last half hour and he was growing restless.

"Nothing's actually wrong with it". Spike replied impatiently. "I'm just giving' everything a once over to make sure it's all good.

Ryan shrugged and lit a cigarette and blew out a smoke ring, pausing for a moment to watch it disappear.

"Didn't you do that yesterday"?

Spike glared at him with eyes the same color as the smoke drifting from Ryans cigarette.

"I did. So What"?

Ryan took another drag of his cigarette, before shaking his head and asking.

"Whats wrong"?

Spike looked at him like he was an idiot.

"What do you mean what's wrong"?

Ryan snorted " Spike I've known you for twenty years, I know that when your nervous or somethings wrong you find whatever excuse you can to work on something and try to ignore the problem. So I ask you again, what is wrong"?

Spike sighed before closing the hood of his car. He took a deep breath before turning to look Ryan in his blue eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to tell you whats going on but you have to promise not tell anyone. Not your mom. Not James, Bryan,Danny, or Melissa, cause god knows they can't keep their mouths shut.

Ryan ground his cigarette out under his shoe. "Are you that nervous about meeting Claires' brother"? He asked jokingly.

Spike ran a hand over his face. "This is not a joke Ryan, Promise me".

"Alright, Sorry, I promise I won't say anything".

Spike nodded. "Good, Alright". He took another deep breath.

Ryan was a little nervous about what his friend was going to tell him now that he was having such a difficult time saying it.

"She's pregnant".

Ryan furrowed his brow. "Who's pregnant"?

Spike dropped his face into his hands as if he couldn't believe the sheer aloofness of his friend.

"Claire, Ryan, Claire is pregnant".

Ryans eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, well are you sure"?

Spike nodded again. " We went to the doctors before we came down, She's about a month along".

Ryan gave him a wry grin." This is gonna' make getting along with her brother a little harder, huh"?

Spike glared again. " Go fuck yourself".

Ryan pulled out his cell phone and glanced at the screen it read ten forty-five.

"You still got a couple of hours before they get here to think out a plan".

Spike shook his head. "Let's go inside, it's cold as hell out here."

Jill adjusted her sunglasses and look out the window at the landscape zipping by trying to remember a land mark from the last time she had been to her mothers.

"How much longer till we get there Chris"?

Chris glanced over at her quickly before looking back at the road.

"I don't know about twenty minutes". He said with a hint of an edge in his voice.

Jill sat up straighter in her seat and gave an exasperated sigh before asking.

"What is your problem Christopher? You've been acting like something's been up your ass the whole drive. you wanna tell me what it is"?

Chris let a few frustrated noises and then threw his hands up from the wheel in exasperation.

"I'm just still kinda mad about this engagement thing, to tell you the truth."

Jill grabbed the wheel and pulled the car straight before the drifted into the other lane.

"Chris keep hands on the damned wheel"!

Chris quickly grabbed the wheel.

"Thank you, now what are you so mad about that we haven't already discussed"?

Chris shrugged. "... I mean what's this Spike guy like, Also what kind of nick name is Spike"?

Jill racked her brain for what she could remember about her brothers friend, since the last time she had seen was around ten years ago.

"Well, I haven't seen him in about ten years. But from what I remember he was a pretty quiet kid, kind of the "Strong Silent Type" I guess you'd call him. Also, Spike is not a nick name, It's his actual legal name.

Chris grunted. "Well what does he do for a living"?

Jill raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you talked to Claire about him"?

A brooding look came over Chris's face. " Well, when she called and told me about the engagement we got into a big argument and haven't really talked since".

Jill rolled her eyes at hearing this." That's what I've told you about Chris, you react way to fast and you react way to severely".

Chris glared at his girlfriend. " I wasn't reacting at Claire, I was only reacting at the news she gave me".

Jill rolled her eyes again. She found she had been doing that a lot more often lately.

"Whatever. and to answer your question about his job, He and Ryan were in the army for a few years and fought over in Croatia, and now he's a welder of some kind".

Chris snorted. "A welder".

Jill gave him a perplexed look." What's wrong with being a welder"?

"How is he going to support my sister on a welders salary".

"Chris, you do know that your sister can get a job with the college degree she has right"?

"Whatever, I just don't like it".

Jill sighed "Fine, lets just listen to the radio for the rest of the drive."

The Valentine House

Spike and Ryan walked into the house to see Ryans mother Wendy and his girlfriend Rebecca Chambers sitting on the couch watching t.v. and talking. Wendy was a thin woman with dark black hair with a few streaks of grey in it. Rebecca was a petite woman of twenty-four years, with a heart-shaped face, her eyes were a light green, and hair was light brown in a pixie haircut.

"Where's Claire"? Spike asked bluntly.

Wendy scoffed. "Spike where are you're manners"?

Spike raised an eyebrow. "What manners"?

Ryan and Becca laughed, and Wendy simply shook her head and said. "Exactly. Claire is upstairs in the guest room I believe.

"Thank you". Spike said before walking upstairs.

Ryan took a seat next to Becca on the couch and placed his arm around her waist before giving her a quick kiss.

"Oh! Your lips are freezing". Rebecca said, touching two fingers too her own pink lips.

Ryan grinned suggestively at her."Wanna help me warm them up"?

"Not while your mothers in the room". Rebecca teased.

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, she is kind of a mood killer".

Wendy threw her hands up in defeat. "I can leave if you want me to". she said in mock hurt.

Ryan stuck a hand out to stop her."No,no, don't leave on account of me. So when is everyone else supposed to get here"?

Wendy glanced at the small white watch on her wrist. "They should be here in about half an hour, but knowing your brothers and sister that could mean anytime today".

Ryan laughed at this knowing how many arguments and other obstacles would happen on his siblings journey.

"I remember when we took that road trip when I came back from Croatia, I had to keep Danny from getting into six fistfights, and three of 'em were with Bryan".

Rebecca giggled and Wendy laughed at the story she heard so many times. "I'll never understand why those two can't just get along".

Ryan shrugged. "Sibling rivalry I guess".

Wendy nodded in agreement and then stood up and said. "I guess I should start making some lunch for when they show up".

Rebecca stood up also."Want any help"?

Wendy smiled. "Sure sweetie, thanks".

Ryan looked at Rebecca. "I thought you were going to help warm my lips up"?

Rebecca giggled. " I think you can wait till later".

Ryan shook his head. " You're a tease, you know that"?

Rebecca tossed an I know over her shoulder as she joined Wendy in the kitchen. Ryan settled down on the couch to watch t.v. until the rest of his family showed up.

Claire was sitting on the bed in the guest room she and spike were sleeping in while they stayed at Ryans mothers house for the thanksgiving week. She had definitely needed the vacation after everything she had gone through and with just finishing getting a degree in human psychology, and now that she was pregnant she had tried to spend more time with Spike. The last few days though he had acted somewhat distant. She guessed it was just him being nervous about the pregnancy and meeting her brother.

The door opening shook her out of her thoughts. She looked to see the man she was just thinking of walking through the door. His grey orbs locked with her blue ones. His mouth twitched slightly and she knew right then he had something that he wanted to talk to her about. He set down next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on her shoulder.

She slipped her hands into his and let her self sink into him. "Whats wrong".

He placed a kiss on her neck before saying. "I'm sorry for how I've acted. I know you wanted to spend more time together".

Claire smiled. "It's okay. Just don't let happen again". she said forcefully.

Spike let out a short laugh and let one of his hands drift to her stomach.

"So, how are we gonna tell your brother about this"? He asked.

She sighed. "Well, we should definitely let him eat lunch first, he'll take the news better if he's not hungry.

"You don't think he'll be happy about becoming an uncle"?

Claire laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, my overprotective brother is gonna be really happy the I'm engaged and impregnated by a guy he's never met, and that I only dated for a year.

Spike laughed again a sound she loved to hear, "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't too happy either".

He looked her in the eyes again. "You do know we're gonna be okay though right"?

She kissed him deep on the lips. " Of course we are. We'll take care of each other. I love you".

He smiled and kissed her again. "Love you too".

They heard the front door downstairs swing open and voices drifted through the door.

Spike said. " That must be the kids".

A string of what sounded like curses and threats floated up the stairs and through the guest room door to their ears.

"And they're already arguing".

She stood up pulling her with him. "Come on, let's go see what they're doing down stairs."

He nodded and followed after feeling both happy and nervous.

They made their way downstairs where they saw that the two people arguing were the younger Valentine brothers, Bryan and Danny. Bryan was twenty-one years old about five foot ten inches tall and had dark green eyes, his black hair was in a buzz cut.

Danny was a few inches shorter than his brother and skinnier. He had the same green eyes but his hair was longer and covered with a purple hat that he wore backwards. From what she could tell they were arguing about a woman that they had met at a gas station. How lovely. She thought.

There was a girl who was about the same age as Bryan and looked remarkably like a younger version of Wendy, Claire figured this must have been Bryans twin sister Melissa. Standing next to her was another man who looked to be in his early twenties, he had jet black hair and dark grey eyes, he was shaking his head at the two brothers arguing.

Spike took her hand. " Come on, I want you to meet my brother".

He led her over to where Melissa and the dark-haired guy were standing.

"This is my brother James". He said

James gave her a small smile and a "nice to meet you".

The girl introduced herself as Missy and gave Claire a sweet smile. Claire returned it.

"I'm sorry about my idiot brothers, they don't exactly know how to get along".

"Don't worry I know all about how brothers can be". Claire said

Claire and Missy shared a small laugh.

By now Wendy had come into the room broken the argument up and sent the two boys on their separate ways, Bryan to get the rest of their luggage and Danny to take what they had already brought in too their rooms.


	2. Danny and Jingles

"There it is" Jill said to Chris.

Chris looked out the window to his left. The house was two-story of colonial style, it was painted a cream color and had red brick steps leading to the porch and the front door.

"Wow, that's a nice house". Chris said pulling over to the curb next to the house.

"Yeah it's where I grew up. It's really bringing back a lot of memories just seeing the old place". she said with a small smile on her face.

"Like what"? Chris asked taking her hand.

Jill sighed happily. "Like learning how to ride my bike on this street and playing basketball with Ryan in the driveway".

Chris laughed at this. "Were you any better back then"?

Jill slapped his arm. "Watch it Chris. Besides I was just having on off day when we played".

Chris laughed again. "All three times, really Jill"?

Jill shook her head. " Lets just get our stuff in the house".

They stepped out of Chris's truck and started getting their bags out of the back. They had packed light only bringing clothes and toiletries, so they only had three bags in between them. Chris started towards the house but Jill put a hand on his arm to stall him.

"I'm going to tell you this one last time Chris, for the sake of your sister be nice to Spike when you meet him. You'll just drive her away if you cause problems in her love life."

Chris just sighed. "Jill, I promise I won't be mean to him as long as he's a good guy".

Jill just laughed and kissed him. "That's the best I can hope for with you".

She started to walk away but Chris grabbed her around the waist and kissed again. They stayed like this for a minute before a voice yelled from the porch.

"Hey, quit making out in the front yard. We do have neighbors you know".

Chris whipped around to see a guy in his late teens wearing a purple hat and cigarette hanging out his lips standing on the porch steps.

"Who's that"?

Jill let out a short laugh. " That would be my youngest brother and the baby of the family, Daniel".

The kid walked out into the yard with them and stuck his hand out to Chris. " It's Danny and nice to meet you..."?

Chris took his hand and shook it." My name's Chris and nice to meet you to Danny".

Danny turned to Jill. " You're looking good sis, kinda old, but good".

Jill just grinned at him " Just shut up and hug me". Danny laughed and grabbed his older sister.  
They broke the hug but Jill held onto his shoulders.

"God, you've grown up so much, since the last time I've seen you".

"Well, since the last time you saw me I was thirteen, I would hope I've grown up just a little". He said dryly.

Jill rolled her eyes." Ha ha, Very funny Daniel." Then she noticed the little bit of ink that peeked out from under his shirt sleeve. "Danny, did you actually get that tattoo mom was telling me about"?

Danny grinned "Yeah, of course I did". He bunched his sleeve up over his shoulder to show a very well done tattoo of the face of a Bull Mastiff with the name Jingles under it.

Jill shook her head in disbelief. "Danny, why in the world would you get the face of dog permanently inked onto your body"?

He glared at her. " I loved Jingles with all my heart Jill. I mean, I had him for eleven years. Hell, I raised him from when he was a puppy, I even bottle fed him".

Jill turned to Chris. " Can you believe this kid"?

Chris just shrugged." A dog is a mans best friend". Danny grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.

" Thank you Chris. You know, I like you already, I think we'll be good friends before this weeks over".

Chris grinned back at him until he noticed the death glare Jill was giving him.

"You're supposed to agree with me you know? Your girlfriend and the love of your life".

Danny laughed and started walking back towards the house " y'all come in the house so Chris can meet the rest of the family".

Chris put an arm around Jill and kissed her cheek. "You ready"?

"Sure" She said sweetly before shoving the bags into his arms." You can take care of the bags right"? She asked before starting for the house without waiting for an answer.

Chris just laughed to himself and attempted to juggle the bags into the house.


	3. The Meeting

Spike was standing with his brother James when Danny came through the door chattering loudly with a woman who looked vaguely familiar. He figured out who it was pretty quick when Claire, Becca and Wendy all ran over to hug her. He smiled slightly at the scene, especially at seeing Claire so happy to see her friend.

"Who is that". His brother asked him.

"Thats Jill man".

"She looks a lot different from the last time I saw her".

Spike had to agree with him. Since the last time he had seen Jill she had grown her brunette hair out down to her shoulders and looked more mature. Ryan, Melissa and Bryan had come into the living room and were greeting Jill. Melissa led Jill over to where they were standing.

"Jill I'd like you too meet my boyfriend James"

Jill smiled. " I remember who he is Missy. He was the one that Bryan was arrested with for setting off firecrackers in the alley behind the high school".

James grinned sheepishly." Yeah, that was me, it's nice to see you again".

"You too, He's definitely cute. Good choice Missy." She grinned devilishly at her sister who returned the smile while James blushed deep and found someone else to talk to. Missy followed. Jill turned to him after this happened. She sized him up and down.

" Still the same kid I remember Ryan running around with since he was five years old".

Spike snorted. "Is that right"?

She nodded " Sure is, you're a lot taller, and have a few more scars but you still have that permanent glower about you."

He ignored the insult.

Jill gave him a questioning look. "How did you get Claire to agree to marry you"?

Spike frowned at her. " What are you trying to say"?

She gave him an apologetic look " I'm not saying I don't think you're good enough or anything like that, It's just that Claire has never seemed the type to get married to me".

He shrugged. "We love each other and both decided that there wasn't any reason not to do it". He was careful with his answer not wanting to give away any hints about the pregnancy before Claire was ready.

Jill nodded. "Okay. You do know that if you hurt her, I'll kill you right"? She gave him a baleful smile.

He gave his own smile back. "Yeah, I understand".

Claire walked over. "What are you guys talking about"?

Jill answered. "Just catching up with each other".

Claire gave him one of her stunning smiles. It never ceased to amaze him how one of those smiles could make whatever bad feelings he had disappear, it was one of the things that he loved most about her.

She grabbed his hand. " Come on, it's time for you to meet my brother".

Spike saw the man she was talking about, He was big, He stood about two inches taller than at six-foot four and looked like he was made of pure muscle. Spike also noticed that he had the same bright blue eyes as Claire but his short spiked hair was a different shade of brown than her auburn.

Claire pulled him away from Bryan and Danny who had started up their gas station girl argument again and somehow managed to drag him into it. He looked thankful for being pulled out of the situation. His mood seemed to change when he saw Spike.

Claire ignored so Spike decided he would too for her sake. He stuck his hand out and Chris took it though he seemed to do it reluctantly.

"I'm Spike, it's good to finally meet you. Claire told me a lot about you". He did his best to be amicable.

Chris simply grunted. " All of it good I hope". He noted Spikes hard gray eyes and the few scars on his face and thought he looked a little rough for his sister or maybe it meant he could just handle himself.

Claire grinned slyly at him. " Well, there wasn't much good to tell him about Chris.

Chris didn't seem to find it funny and Spike noticed he was now intently studying him.

"So what do you do for a living Spike"?

" I work at an auto-shop, I mostly do body work though".

Chris seemed unimpressed. "That doesn't seem like the kind of job that would pay high enough to get married on."

Spike bristled at this and Claire put a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him, but it wasn't enough

"Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that"? Everyone in the room turned to look at them. Jill quickly walked over to help Claire defuse the delicate situation.

Chris answered him indignantly. " I'm her brother and it's my job to make sure that you're going will be able to take care of her."

Spike was about to give Chris his retort but Jill beat him to it by getting in between the two angry men.

"Chris, stop it, You're acting like an idiot and embarrassing yourself in front of everyone. Now my mother and Becca have taken the time to fix us all a nice lunch, so why don't we all go into the kitchen and just be civil"?

Spike glared at Chris and said he wasn't hungry before walking out the front door, the three younger siblings and James made excuses about having something to take care of in their rooms before they ate. Ryan, Becca and Wendy had already made their way into the kitchen which left Claire, Jill and Chris still standing in the living room.

"Claire..." Chris started but was quickly interrupted.

" No, Chris don't try I can't even talk to you now." She glared at him one more time before walking out the front door to find Spike.

Chris looked at Jill but before he could say anything she grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and dragged him towards the kitchen. "Maybe you'll be a little smarter after you get some food in you".

The lunch was a bit of an awkward one since the younger kids had decided not to join them for and Wendy had tried to talk to Jill but found she was a little too frustrated to make good conversation. Ryan and Chris also had trouble getting a conversation going because of the argument that had taken place just minutes earlier.


	4. Telling Jill

Claire found Spike sitting on the top step of the porch, smoking a cigarette. He turned around when he heard her behind him, she could see that his eyes were bright and full of anger, but they softened a little when he saw it was her.

"Hey" He said in the mild voice he saved for her.

She took a seat next and picked up the pack of cigarettes sitting by his feet and had one in between her lips before Spike pinched it between his fingers and crushed it in the ashtray along with his own cigarette.

"You know we gotta quit smoking while you're pregnant". He said giving her a small smile.

She scoffed at him."I wasn't the one out here trying to smoke one in a single drag".

"Yeah, well I was a just a bit stressed out". He said bitterly.

"Well, you're not the only one". She said and leaned her head against her shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist and let her scent wash over him and calm him. He stroked her stomach in small circles with his thumb, he had started doing this soon after they found out that she was pregnant. Even there wasn't much to feel with her being only a month along, she didn't mind him doing it though since it helped relax her, especially in a situation like this.

They sat like this for a moment with no words, just enjoying each others company until Spike started the conversation again.

"Do you know what your brothers problem is with me"? He asked her quietly.

She shrugged against him. " He's just very protective of me".

"A little overprotective if you ask me"

Claire sighed sadly. " I know, it's just that when our parents passed away he was the only left that could take care of me. Chris has just never been able to get over his overprotective tendencies".

She straightened up and looked him in the eyes. " That's not an excuse for him to treat you like shit though, and I'm going to make sure he understands that when I decide to talk to him again".

Spike just smiled and kissed her, he loved how protective she was of him even though he could handle himself it felt good to know she would always back him up. They kissed for a few more moments, only breaking off when they heard the door open behind them. Spike turned around ready for another argument and maybe for a fight if Chris tried to push him further, but it was only Jill with a sympathetic look on her face.

"Spike, I want to apologize for how Chris acted, He can be really hard-headed sometimes.

Spike nodded. "It's alright, it wasn't your fault anyways".

Claire stood up. "Where is my brother? I need to have a talk with him".

Jill smirked "I sent him up to our room to cool off after we ate because he was still acting like an idiot, but I was wondering if I we could talk in private for a minute"?

Claire gave her a questioning look but agreed. "Where do you want to talk at"?

Spike stood up, zipped up his jacket and gave Claire a kiss on the cheek. " Y'all can have the porch, I'm gonna go for a walk".

With that he jogged down the steps and began striding down the road. Claire watched after him for a moment before turning back to Jill.

"What'd you want to talk about"?

Jill shrugged. " Just about what's been happening the last few months, we haven't had many opportunities to talk since we've both been so busy".

Claire realized just then that it had been at least a month since she had talked to Jill. It made her sad to think that she wasn't as close to Jill as she used to be, before Chris and Jill had become so busy with their police work Jill had been like a big sister to Claire.

Jill took Claires hand to look at the engagement ring on her finger it was a modest one, just a small diamond with a silver band, but it meant the world to Claire. Jill looked up from the ring into Claires eyes and gave her a knowing smile.

"You really love him, huh"?

Claire laughed sardonically. " Well, I am marrying him so I would hope so".

Jill laughed. " Seriously though, I can tell by the way you look at him that you truly love him.

Claire smiled. "Yeah I do, he's really a great guy." She let out a frustrated groan.

Jill put a hand on her shoulder. " What's wrong?"

Claire shook her head. " I just wish that Chris would stop trying to be such a hard-ass, and just get along with Spike."

Jill gave her an understanding smile. " He'll come around eventually, once he gets to know Spike. He just wants to be sure that whoever you're with is good enough for you".

Claire scoffed. " He needs to understand that I'm not a little girl anymore and can make my own decisions and take care of my own problems".

A conflicted look came over Claires face for a moment. "Jill, I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell Chris".

Jill didn't look happy about it, but she agreed all the same. " I promise I won't say anything to him. What is it?"

Claire gave her answer straightforward. " I'm pregnant".

Jills eyes widened. "Pregnant? are you sure"?

Claire nodded and smiled. " I'm five weeks along. We went to the doctor just before we came down here to make sure."

"Is that why you're marrying him"?

Claire glared at her. "No, I love him. This just happened, he proposed to me a week before we knew anyway".

Jill smiled. "Well then, I guess you have this handled. Who else knows that you're pregnant"?

"Just Ryan and Becca".

"What do they think about it"?

Claire smiled and let out a small laugh. " Your brother tried to convince Spike to name the baby after him".

Jill laughed and shook her head at her brothers antics. "What about Becca".

"She was really happy for me when I told her, but then of course she started lecturing me on all the vitamins and nutrients I needed. Now, what do you think about it Jill"?

Jill shrugged and smiled. " As long as you're happy and safe then its fine with me, and I guess it's gonna be fun being an aunt".

Claire smiled brightly and hugged Jill. "That's good 'cause I'm gonna need you to help me deal with my brother when we tell him about this".

Jill smiled back at her. " Come on inside, you should have that talk with Chris before Spike gets back so nothing else starts up".

Claire nodded and followed Jill into the house.


End file.
